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Epoloch
Epoloch, also known as Gorges 86-2 was a B2V class star that was located 7230 light years away from Earth. Epoloch is the location of the Forerunner Shield World located as Requiem, a location known to be dominated by the Forerunner Warrior-Servant rate. The system is rather anomalous and is believed to be partially, or fully artificial, down to the star. Epoloch has four bodies orbiting it, with the second in the system being Requiem. As of 3241, no major defenses of the system have been located, but the UNSC for the most part has remained clear of all of the planets with the exception of Requiem, which is a target for an emergency UNSC mission to locate the Didact, the high general of the Warrior-Servants. Stellar Description Epoloch is a B-class main sequence star that appears to be in the same life phase as Sol. This class of star is considered bigger than Earth's sun and burns brighter and hotter. As a result though, B-class stars have shorter lifespans. Epoloch, like other stars in its class, does not possess a corona in its atmosphere, yet it has a surface temperature of well over 10,000 Kelvin. The star also rotates at a high rate of speed, causing it to actually distort in shape. From a distance, Epoloch appears to be round, but up close, the distortion is far clearer with the star appearing squashed. The rotation itself causes the distortion, though the immense gravity of the star keeps it together. What seems odd though about Requiem is its age. B-class stars tend to blow away more of their stellar material in far more violent fusion reactions than a G-class star like Sol. Stars of the size of Epoloch tend to blow away lighter elements like Hydrogen in far more massive volumes. This also means that the local neighborhood over billions of years is free of these light elements. This fact was taken into account when initial scans of Epoloch were performed in 3240. It was a surprise when the Hydrogen content of the star was impossibly high for its age. The first determination was that Epoloch was an anomaly, but it was impossible for a star of the apparent age of Epoloch to retain the level of stellar material that was found. It was later determined that the hypothesized age of the star was only around 120,000 years, which through scientific extrapolation would mean that the fusion reaction to even create the star would not have started yet. It became clear quickly the Epoloch was in fact an artificial construct of the Forerunners. It was known that the alien race was capable of constructing whole planets as well as forcing stellar collapse during the Flood War, so it was not an extreme leap to suggest that the Forerunners had fashioned a star out of gas which was likely in a nebula of some sort over a hundred thousand years ago. As for the material to create the planet, it was possible that the Forerunners were able to transport materials over the course of centuries or located rogue planets to serve as the satellites of Epoloch. The inner planet likely serve as power collectors from Epoloch itself, but no additional scans have been performed on in the inner planet. The distance of the remaining two planets, not to mention their sizes being scores smaller than Requiem itself suggest that only minor installations may remain on their surfaces. There have been some causes of worry over whether or not Epoloch has been rigged with a similar device to cause stellar collapse which will force the star to go nova. No mechanical mechanism has been discovered, and Requiem has not yet been explored at decent length. The fear that the system may contain a failsafe in the event of discovery worries those embarking on the mission to find the Didact. Epoloch was initially catalogued in 2340 as Gorges 86-2 under the Geregory T. Gorges Stellar catalogue. This designation still officially remains as the star's name in UEG star charts. Behind the Scenes Epoloch is of course the star featured as the primary for Requiem in Halo 4 and in Spartan Ops. This of course being a parallel timeline, things are noticeably different. Due to the Chief not actually ending up in Requiem's system, the events of Halo 4 never took place. So we're about six or seven hundred years late to the punch. Not that it matters much to the Didact. It remains to be seen in "Heart of Chaos" whether the system's fate will end up as the same. List of Appearances * Heart of Chaos (First Appearance) Category:Locations Category:Stars Category:Forerunners